Secondary tank for filtration?

J

JimmyJBBPJMT

Members
Ok, I've got a 75 gal and a 55 gal. I've been seeing filtration systems that are simply another tank that sits beneath the larger tank. I've tried a little looking online to find more about them but not much luck as to what I'm looking for. So....
How do they work?
What are the components required?
How much will each size filter?
How many gal/hr pump is required?
What type of filtration media?
Can I run two tanks off of one filter tank?
What are the pros/cons to this system?
How much maintenance is required?

Thanks


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jonclark96

jonclark96

Past CCA President
They are called sumps. Lots of info on the net about them. Some swear by them, others don't. All work by draining water from the tank though the sump and pumping it back to the tank. I've stayed away from sumps because I don't have any drilled tanks and the thought of a siphon overflow is scary. I would think that most would agree that they are the best bang for your buck filtration wise.
 
chriscoli

chriscoli

Administrator
Matt does the opposite.....he uses "dump" filters, which is basically a sump that sits on top of the tank. Water gets pumped up to the filter and then drains by gravity back down to the tank.
 
Tony

Tony

Alligator Snapping Turtle/Past Pres
Main requirement (in my book) for using a sump is to have your main tank drilled. You can use over-the-side weirs or siphons, but in my experience, there is a very real risk of overflowing the main tank. Are your tanks drilled?
 
L

ltrepeter2000

Members
Tony said:
Main requirement (in my book) for using a sump is to have your main tank drilled. You can use over-the-side weirs or siphons, but in my experience, there is a very real risk of overflowing the main tank. Are your tanks drilled?
Click to expand...

Usually with the over the side you will see folks drill a small hole low enough to not be frequently reached between water changes but high enough to break the suction before your sump tank fills, taking into account that you need these holes on both the intake and out. Otherwise you will likely experience a full tank dump in the event of a power outage etc.
 
Tony

Tony

Alligator Snapping Turtle/Past Pres
ltrepeter2000 said:
Usually with the over the side you will see folks drill a small hole low enough to not be frequently reached between water changes but high enough to break the suction before your sump tank fills, taking into account that you need these holes on both the intake and out. Otherwise you will likely experience a full tank dump in the event of a power outage etc.
Click to expand...

I'm referring to one of these (besides allowing for a higher drain rate, they - more importantly, skim organics from the top of the water):

ImageHandler.ashx


You can use an Aqualifter pump (hooked to a nipple on top) to restart the siphon if the power goes off. Once it comes back on, the pump is meant to remove the air bubble out of the top of the weir to restart the siphon. enerally though, the nipple on top quickly becomes clogged with coraline, hair algae, gunk, etc and this becomes less than effective.

Power goes off, siphon is lost. Power goes back on, return pump restarts and all the water from your sump ends up on the floor.

Happened to me about every 3-4 months when I was running my old saltwater setup.
 
chriscoli

chriscoli

Administrator
I've tried some DIY setups and had the same thing happen....it's not fun stepping into a puddle in the dark first thing in the morning.
 
dogofwar

dogofwar

CCA Members
Stepping into a puddle in the dark is on better than finding a dead prized fish on the floor...

Dump filters are the way to go...which is why I have one on all of my big tanks (and used to have them on almost all of my tanks)...

Matt

chriscoli said:
I've tried some DIY setups and had the same thing happen....it's not fun stepping into a puddle in the dark first thing in the morning.
Click to expand...
 
E

ezrk

Members
chriscoli said:
I've tried some DIY setups and had the same thing happen....it's not fun stepping into a puddle in the dark first thing in the morning.
Click to expand...

That setup isn't very safe for a HOB overflow, there are much better designs that are not dependent on pumps to restart the siphon. Basically they all involve some sort of pretzely arrangement of piping.

That said if I were to do this, I would get a fail safe cut-off switch that would turn the pump off if the tank started overflowing - I have drilled tanks and still have these.
 
chriscoli

chriscoli

Administrator
ezrk said:
That setup isn't very safe for a HOB overflow, there are much better designs that are not dependent on pumps to restart the siphon. Basically they all involve some sort of pretzely arrangement of piping.

That said if I were to do this, I would get a fail safe cut-off switch that would turn the pump off if the tank started overflowing - I have drilled tanks and still have these.
Click to expand...

The DIY setups that I tried WERE the "pretzely" pipe arrangements!
 
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